Shattered
by KoriTheEvilEditor
Summary: Everything changed when she met him. She found something she loved, but she never could have imagined some consequences
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I actually have had this on notebook paper for like a month or something like that . Just review and tell me what you think. BUT PLEASE NO FLAMES!**

**Shattered**

Raindrops pattered softly on the window of the warehouse. A streetlight sone softly through the wet glass. The drops on the window threw distorted shadows over the roo... and the boy on the bed, violet eyes stareing up at the cracked ceiling.

Thoughts chased each other around his mind, unwilling to let him rest. He slammed a fist into his pillow, growling but unable to shake the unnerving feeling that something was about to happen.

A loud crash from outside followed by harsh voices flooded the warehouse from the alleyway outside. Marik smirked evilly and grabbed his millenium rod. He headed outside to alley. A group of five or six men surrounded someone smaller. A girl. She was screaming and _attempting_ to fight back.

The leader of the group drove his fist into her stomach, cutting her scream short. She slid to the ground, coughing and retching.

One of the thugs turned and spotted Marik. "Well, well welll, What do we have here?" He grinned.

The leader faced Marik, turning his back on the girl."Private audience, boy. Might want to get a move on before you get hurt."

Marik grinned," I'm not going anywhere, but _you _are taking a little trip." The golden item in his hand glowed harshly. The darkness surrounding them grew seemingly darker, tendrils shooting out and gripping the men tightly.

Marik relished the sound of their screams as they were dragged into the darkness forever. He turned to the girl again, his psychotic grin grew ever wider as he saw the terrified look in her eyes. Like an animal in a cage.

A shadow crept up to her, wrapping around her like a spider trapping a fly. Suddenly, there was a click behind him... but it was too late.

_BANG_! A ripping pain tore through Marik's shoulder. He glanced at it and was shocked to see dark blood oozing from the wound. Behind him there was a grinning man holding a smoking gun. How the hell had he missed someone?

Another shot rang through the alley. Another tearing pain ran through him, from his forearm this time. He dropped the Millenium item in his hand. Two more shots rang out, ripping through the side of his chest and leg. He felt his knees give out beneath him. He stared at the man in front of him. The man who was now aiming a gun between his eyes. The man's psychotic laugh rivaled even Marik's as he pulled the trigger.

A hollow hitting sound rang through the alley. The man's hand and head jerked to the side. The bullet whizzed past Marik's ear. He lunged out of the way to avoid it even though he wouldn't have been hit either way. Behind the man stood the girl from before, holding a plank of wood. She dropped the plank and ran towards marik. He flinched away, hissing as it jostled his shoulder.

She stopped a few feet away from him and hesitantly picked up the Millenium Rod. "Put. That. Down," Marik growled.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, but your not really in any position to be telling me what to do."

Marik glared at her and muttered profanities under his breath. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his good arm. He ripped away from her, stumbling on his injured leg.

She grabbed him and helped him keep his balance. "Keep still, you need help." Marik stopped struggling and glared at her. "Do you live here?"

Marik nodded. She helped him inside, and to the bathroom. She set him on the edgw of the bathtub. After wetting a couple of rags, she began peeling the material away from his wounds. "My names Nicole," she said while she worked. "What's yours?"

Marik kept silent, not even looking her in the face. His silence seemed to unnerve Nicole. "I geuss you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

When she finished cleaning and dressing his wounds. Nicole made sure he got to his room all right. "Well, bye.." she mummbled, walking out.

At that moment, Marik knew there was one question that he couldn't leave unanswered. "Why did you do it?" She turned, surprised.

"What?"

"Why did you help me? What did you get out of it?"

She frowned. "I didn't get anything out of it..."

"Then why?" Marik glared at her, frustrated.

"I don't know," she scratched the back of her head, "I guess morals, or something. I just couldn't let someone get shot... or bleed to death in an alleyway."

Marik bit his lip. She had saved his life. Maybe he did owe her somewhat of something in return. "Marik," he said softly.

"What?"

He looked up at her," T-that's my name..Marik." Damn, why was he stuttering like a scared little kid.

She smiled at him. 'Dazzling,' Marik thought, then quickly put it from his mind.

"Thanks," she said," I-" A loud crack of thunder sounded through the warehouse. 'Huh,' Marik thought, before speaking aloud," It's really storming out there." He glanced at Nicole, who had gone from the brave girl who knocked a man out with a plank of wood to a scared little girl. Her eyes were wide and terrified, stareing at the storm outside. For the first time he noticed that her eyes were blue. Really bright blue.

"Nicole?" Marik noticed the concern in his tone and mentally kicked himself for it.

"I'm okay," she said," It's just that thunder kinda freaks me out." She bit her lip, obviously trying to appear okay, but he could still see the fear in her eyes.

"Its probably not a good idea for you to go out in that weather. It might be better if you stayed here for the night." Marik surprised himself as the offer slipped pass his lips.

"Yeah, but where would I sleep?"

Marik frowned," Well, this is the only bed in the house sooo..."

Nicole's face turned a bright red as Marik realized how that would sound to her. "N-not like that," stumbled over his words in his hurry to get them out, to set her straight. "I didn't mean that, I just..."

He was cut off by Nicole clamping her hand over his mouth. He glared, how dare she! "I geussed you didn't. It's just a little embarrassing, I geuss," she laughed nervously. "I guess I should get some sleep then." She blushed, and Marik realized what she was waiting for. He scooted to the edge, making room. She climbed in and pressed herself against the wall, as far from him as possible. More thunder boomed and Nicole gripped the blanket thightly. She closed her eyes and Marik watched her slowly fall asleep. 'What's happening to me?' he thought. 'This supid girl.' he slowly laid back against the pillow and finally drifted off to sleep. 'Why couldn't I sleep earlier?' he thought before the darkness pulled him under.

Nicole's eyes slowly opened to find herself stareing into the face of no other than...Marik. "Huh?" she mumbled, pulling slightly away.

"What?" Marik said, waking up. From the surprise in his eyes, Nicole could see that this hadn't been on purpose. She thouht she should move, but neither of them did.

Suddenly, the door opened and another man walked in," Master Marik, I-" he began, but cut off as he glimpsed the people on the bed.

"Odion, I will speak with you in a minute. Leave." his voice was threatening and Nicole found herself shrinking away from him, a little scared.

Once the man, Odion, had left, the room seemed filled with tension, so Nicole tried to lighten the mood. "Master Marik? You must be important. Huh?" she tried to smile warmly.

Marik glared at her, his eyes hard and unforgiving. So unlike the boy who actually semed semi-concerned about her. "I should go. My brothers will be worried about me." She headed out to the hall to the door. Marik followed her.

As she went out into the alley," Don't tell anyone about this." Marik said after her.

She turned and nodded," Take care of yourself. And be careful." With that sheleft, vanishing around the corner.

Marik felt a small bit of leftover concern from last night well up in him. His lips barely moved and his voice was so soft that he scarcely heard it himself. "Be careful."


	2. Chapter 2

**me: Welcome back, kind readers.I hope dearly that you did not notice my mistake. I put this fanfic under "Marik Ishtar" but it should be under "Yami Marik" Keep that in mind when you read th-this *falls to floor crying* I'M SORRYY! I HAD A BLONDE MOMENT OKAY! SORRY!**

**Bakura: I'm sorry, someone pointed it out and she has gone crazy. *glares at Ryou***

**Ryou: What!? I said I was sorry!**

SHATTERED: CHAPTER TWO

Marik walked into the stadium, glaring against the bright lights. Scattered across the stadium were the Pharoh's gang, surrounding Bakura disguised as his ever-so-innocent hikari, Seto Kaiba and his annoying little brother, and behind Kaiba stood...NICOLE!

Marik bit his lip. '_She knows who I really am. She could ruin everything!_' He began to think of a new plan when he heard a call.

"Hey! Hey, Namu!"

Marik looked up, it was that insolent blonde, Wheeler. Tea followed along with the rest of the gang- and Nicole. "Um, hey, g-guys..."

"Guess you got in too, huh. Oh, yeah, you haven't met the rest of the gang yet. There's Yugi, Tristan, Duke, Serenity, and Nicole. Nicole would you quit hiding behind everyone."

Nicole stepped out shyly, her eyes widening as she truely saw Marik for the first time. Marik gulped, but Nicole simply smiled and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Namu. I'm Nicole Kaiba." Marik shook her hand, relieved and confused.

Suddenly, Kaibas goons began to call the group over so that they could sign into the tournament.

Marik stood on the top of the blimp, leaning against the railing.

"Marik?" Called a vioce from behind him.

Marik turned around and saw Nicole. "So you do remember me?"

Nicole rubbed her arm. "Yeah,um, I do..."

"Was there a particular reason that you didn't sell me out to your friends? Not that I'm complaining."

The black-haired girl sighed. "I just thought that if you didn't want to tell them then I should respect that."

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Though I'm sure that your friends have told you plenty about 'Marik.'"

SHe blushed and looked down. "Yeah, but well it didnt seem like you or any thing, maybe it was, I don't, nevermind. Well if your trying to convince me I can just go tell them." She turned to walk away, but Marik grabbed her arm.

"I wouldnb't do that if I were you..." he growled coldly.

Nicole gulped and looked at him. She looked truely scared. "I-I wasn't really going to tell them, I just w-was I don't know they wouldn't listen to me anyway... either way c-can you let me go now?"

"Your not going to tell, are you?"

"N-no."

Marik let her go. "Your quite the blabbermouth, aren't you?"

Nicole blushed and walked out.

Marik chuckled and shook his head. '_That girl is something else._'

**me: Marik is too OOC did I go too far?**

** Bakura: Yes, yes you did.**

** me: *jumps at Bakura* BITCH! ONLY I'M ALLOWED TO CRITISIZE MYSELF. *stops while strangleing Bakura* and of course my dear friends and maybe ryou. *continues to strangle Bakura***

** Ryou: *shakes head* Should I stop her. Noooo... she'd get me too... Read & review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Kori: I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO BE KING!**

**Emi: *gasp* Your a BOY!?**

**Kori: NO!**

**Emi: And what would you be queen of anyway?**

**Kori: THE YAOI LOVERS!**

Shattered Chapter Three

Mai was gone. She lay on the bed, eyes closed and unmoving. Nicole closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. Joey was sitting beside Mai's bed, unwilling to move, not even to eat.

Nicole gasped and walked out. Her hands shook, '_This is _my _fault! If I had just revealed Marik, Mai would be here._'

She stumbled onto the upper deck, the cold air raising goosebumps on her arms. She shivered and let the tears she'd been holding back fall. She sobbed, leaning against the rail.

A hand touched Nicole's shoulder, making her jump. She spun around to come face to face with Marik.

"_YOU_!" She gaped."What do you want?" She wiped tears away. He frowned, "Am I not allowed to talk to you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "NO! Not after you send my friend to the shadow realm! No sane person would talk to you!"

Marik stepped towards her.

Nicole backed up quickly and felt the railing bar press painfully into her back, but she still couldn't get away from him. He cupped her cheek in his hand and smirked. "Well, no matter. Even if you don't want to talk to me, you can't get away, now can you?"

Nicole felt a blush rise in her face. "G-get away from me, you bastard..."

Marik leaned his face close to her's. "No," he whispered. He moved even closer and Nicole brought her hand up to slap him. Marik grabbed her wrist and slammed it roughly into the railing. "That's not very smart," he growled in to her ear.

Nicole gasped as his lips brushed across hers. "No!" she screamed and jumped backwards, forgetting where she was. Her wrist was wrenched from his as she fell over the side of the railing. A scream tore from her throat as she began to plummet.

Suddenly there was something wrapped around her wrist already bruised wrist and as she stopped falling, she felt as though her arm was going to come be ripped from its socket.

Nicole looked up and saw Marik holding onto her wrist. His arm was shaking from effort and he had a determined look on his face. Nicole reached up and held onto Marik's arm as tightly as she could with her free hand.

With a loud grunt, Marik hauled her back over. She fell onto him and they were both on the ground. Her hands shook, tears streamed down her face and her breath came in gasps. She felt Marik lift her wrist to his face. Nicole tried halfheartedly to pull away.

"Stay still," Marik snapped, all teasing gone. Nicole stiffened and obeyed, watching him carefully. He held it to the light. Nicole could see that it was turning purple and was already swelling.

Her wrist began to burn as Marik's fingers tightened. A strangled gasp escaped her. Her wrist was throbbing, heat radiating out. It felt like here wrist was on fire. "Stop it!" she screamed, crying. She pulled away hard.

Marik's free hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her against him so she couldn't move. "I told you to stop moving," he murmured.

Nicole tried to hold still, but a few whimpers escaped her. The pain grew so intense her vision began to grow fuzzy.

Then, the pain faded away. Nicole blinked and the darkness at the edge of her vision receded. Marik dropped her wrist and let go of her. He stood up and began to walk away.

Nicole tumbled to the ground. "Wait," she called to Marik's retreating figure. "W-why did you help me?"

Marik stopped for a moment. "I had a debt. I don't want to owe anyone anything, especially not a weak little girl like you."

**Emi: I found you a crown!**

**Kori: I am a queen...I need a tiara.**

**Emi: Aren't they the same thing...**

**Kori: Nope! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Shattered chapter 4**

Bakura watched the girl carefully. Once Marik had left, she sat there for the longest time. She slowly got up and stumbled inside.

The Theif King felt a smirk spread across his face. This could be interesting.

Nicole stared at Seto disbelievingly. How could someone be so heartless? She had almost died and he was yelling at her.

"I told you to stay away from him!" Seto raged.

"Seto, its not like I sought him out. He surprised me."

Seto scoffed. "Of course. That's not surprising considering how incredibly stupid you are-"

He was cut off by her slapping him hard across the face. "I came here to talk because I thought you could help. Evidently not though."

She turned away, her eyes stinging. But there was no way one earth she would let him see her cry. She ran.

Halfway to her room, the tears began to fall uncontrollably. First she had been almost molested by a psychopath. Then she had come very close to death.

Now she just wanted someone to talk to.

She stumbled and crashed into someone, knocking them both over. She tried to sit up but failed.

She froze as a cold voice reached her. "It seems that we cannot stop running into each other, Nicole."

She tried to scramble back. Mariks hand grabbed her chin and tilted her face up. "What happened?" he asked, anger clear in his tone.

"N-none of your business..." she mummbled.

Marik scooped her up bridal style and carried her into her room. He dumped her on the bed and turned to lock the door.

Nicoles heart raced. What was he planning? She looked around for some form of a weapon but found nothing.

Suddenly Marik was in front of her again, his face inches from hers. "Who did this?" he growled.

"No one," she lied.

"Liar," he snarled. "Who did this?"

She hung her head, shaking it softly.

He grabbed her chin and forced her face upwards harshly. "_Who did this_?" he said again.

A fresh wave of tears fell down. "Seto," she choked out. "We had an argument..." Why was she telling him this?

Marik thumb brushed almost tenderly across her cheek. "You dont want me to hurt him, but he hurt you..." He nuzzled her neck.

Nicole shivered. "Why do you care?"

Marik pulled away. "I-I don't know, maybe I just..."

He trailed away and merely stared at her for a moment.

Nicole watched him carefully. She saw him suddenly leaned towards her but didnt move.

Her eyes widened as he pressed his lips softly to hers.

She pulled away slightly. "Marik, I-"

Marik ignored her and crushed his mouth to hers again.

And Nicole was surprised to find that she didnt mind it one bit.


	5. Chapter 5

**Kori: Hello again my beloved readers. I just wanted to let you know that I am writing a Avengers fanfic for whoever is interested.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its characters.**

**Shattered: 5**

Marik laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't exactly know why he had done what he did. He should not let himself be distracted by this girl, but he couldn't help himself.

"Damn teenage hormones," he muttered, blaming his 'good' half's body for a second.

He knew that wasn't it though. At least, that wasn't all of it. He _knew_ that wasn't completely it and he just needed to admit that to himself.

'No,' he thought angrily.

It was merely the foolishness of this teenage body that made him want to hold her.

He shook his head. He did _not _want to hold her. He did not want to kiss her again. To have her hands twisted in his hair and to feel the smooth skin of her neck beneath his lips.

No. No. He couldn't allow himself to think in this manner, to be distracted by her anymore.

He didn't care. He'd killed her friends. He'd kill them all.

Including her.

Of course he would.

Nicole couldn't help smiling. She couldn't stop remembering him and the kiss they'd shared.

How his well-toned midriff felt under her palms. How gentle his mouth was against hers.

She found her cheeks flaming at the memories.

But he was dangerous. Insane. A murderer. He'd killed and would kill again.

Then why was she so confident that he wouldn't hurt her?

She smiled again and closed her eyes, sighing.

A hand touched her arm. Nicole's eyes snapped open and she stared into a familiar face.

"Ryou?" She said happily," When did you wake up?"

He smiled, but it wasn't his normal smile, soft and sweet. This smile was cruel. Shivers rippled over her skin as she realized this wasn't Ryou.

His hand tightened on her arm and his eyes flashed with a crazy kind of delight. His mouth stretched into a psychotic smirk.

Nicole pulled back desprately. "Let go of me," she yelled.

She opened her mouth to yell again, but he whipped out his other hand, and a cold, sharp edge was placed against her throat. He took his hand away from her arm and held his index finger to his lips. "Shhh."

She froze, staring him right in the eye.

"Good girl," he said. "Now I understand that lately you've been, how should I put it, fraternizing with my partner in crime. I can't have that, as you must understand," he explained in a calm voice. "But even if you promised to stop, which I doubt you will, he would still be...distracted." Bakura pulled the knife away from her neck and dragged the point across her cheek. "That's where you come in, my dear. All you have to do is play a little game with us." He pressed the knife down harder on this last coment, breaking the skin ever so slightly.

Nicole brought her hand up hard to his knife hand, knocking it away from her. She jumped off the bed and attempted to run for the door. His hands wrapped around her waist. He was laughing like a maniac as her pressed his knife to her throat again. Hot breath ran down her neck. "You're a lot more fun than you look," he chuckled breathlessly. "I can see why Marik likes you." He scraped his teeth along her neck, earning a shiver from the girl. "Maybe after this I'll keep you, like a little pet."

He covered her eyes with his hand and murmured something. She felt all of her energy drain as she fell unconcious.

Marik refused to think of her. If he didn't think of her, the frustration and confusion disappeared, if even just for a few minutes.

He was not attracted to her, he did not care about her.

He really, really didn't.

The sound of paper crumpling snapped him out of his thoughts.

There was a note shoved under the door.

"What the hell?" Marik said aloud. He picked it up.

His eyes flew over the words, widening as they went. When he finished, he dropped it and ran out of his room without another word.

The paper itself floated to the ground, words facing the ceiling.

In handwriting strangly elegant considering the psychopath that wrote it, the letter read:

Hello Marik,

I have in my possesion something that I believe belongs to you. She's quite fiesty, so I can't promise how long until I lose my temper and "something" happens to her. I'll be on the observation deck with the little pet. Meet us there and maybe I'll give her back. Or maybe not, she is quite fun to play with. See you there.

**Kori: Thanks for reading, Please review and I'll see you...in the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Kori: Hey there, if this chapter seems familiar, it's because I can't write duels very well, so I'm using the manga for reference. I'll try not to use it too much though.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not ever, and will never own YuGiOh**

**Read and Review!**

**Shattered: Chapter 6**

Marik rushed to the top of the blimp and out onto the dueling platform.

Bakura stood there, a smirk on his face and a duel disk on his wrist. Wind whipped his wild hair around.

Marik glared at him and searched the deck for Nicole. It was dark and hard to see, as if Bakura had already called the shadows. "Where is she?" he growled at his old partner.

Bakura's sadistic smirk widened. "Are you sure you want to see her? She's not so pretty now."

"Where is she?"

Bakura shrugged. "Suit yourself." He waved a hand and some of the darkness lifted to reveal Nicole. She was floating ten feet in the air, shackles around her wrists yanking her arms above her head. Dark stains dotted her clothing and the same liquid dripped down onto the floor.

Her eyes fluttered open, then her head snapped up as she saw Marik. "No, Marik," she screamed. "It's a trap. Don't listen to him-" She was cut off by one of the shadows that surrounded her. It dove toward her and through her. She screamed and coughed more blood. Another shadow wrapped around her mouth, muting her.

Marik took a step toward Bakura. "Let her go, she has nothing to do with this."

Bakura shook his head sadly, as if Marik were an ignorant child. "I think you'll find she is, Marik. And that is a distraction that neither of us can afford. I'll give you a chance though." He held up a hand towards Nicole and curled his fingers towards himself. The dark shackles dragged her to him, though she struggled. Then she moved in front of him. In front of Marik.

"Send her to the Shadow Realm," Bakura said. "I'd do it myself, but I'm not the one who would be distracted by that. Do it, and all will be forgiven. They're all going to die anyway."

Marik frowned. This seemed to easy. He held up a hand, shadows swirling to his command. He looked at Nicole. She was crying, limp and defeated. She knew he would do it, she expected him to do it.

Marik let the shadows dissipate. "No."

Bakura tilted his head. "Are you sure? This is your last chance."

"No. I won't do it."

Bakura sighed and sent her back to where she had been. Then he started laughing. "Now we do things the hard way, my favorite." He lifted his duel disk.

Marik lifted his. "I suppose this is a Shadow Game. What are the rules?"

Bakura thought for a moment. "Hmmm, whoever loses dies. That covers everything, yes?"

"What about her?"

"Oh, her. She's attached to life points."

Marik nodded. His life points, most likely. He couldn't lose then.

"Lets duel," they both shouted.

"I'll go first," Bakura said. He drew and smirked as he looked at his hand. "I lay a card facedown and summon goblin zombie in attack mode!"

Marik smirked. Had Bakura forgotten that Marik knew all about his occult deck? This duel would be easy.

He drew. This wasn't a great hand, but it was good enough to beat Bakura. "I play facedown card and summon Drillago." He smirked. Bakura wasn't even trying. "Do my bidding. Attack the enemy monster!" The drill creature rushed at Bakura's zombie, but the albino simply smirked.

"Reveal trap card," he shouted. "Fearful Earthbound!"

Marik barely blinked. So, a trap card.

"Look at your feet," Bakura yelled at him.

Marik looked down. Sharp teeth were coming out of the ground all around him, a mouth about to swallow him whole.

"Every time your monster attacks, you lose five hundred life points," Bakura laughed. "Try to get out of this one!"

Marik's eyes widened. 'I can't stop my monster from attacking,' he thought.

Drillago rammed into the zombie, wiping it out in a flash.

"Fearful Earthbound, chew him up!" Bakura shouted.

Marik laughed. "Sorry to interfere with your plans, but I activate Trap Jammer, which renders your Fearful Earthbound useless."

Fearful Earthbound disappeared in a whirlwind, leaving Marik untouched. "Now take a look at yourself, Bakura."

Bakura looked at his shoulder, his eyes wide with surprise as he saw that it was no longer there, his arm left floating in midair.

"Looks like it was you who was bitten," Marik smirked. "You lost life points from my attack. Whenever you lose life, your body is eaten away."

Bakura nodded. "I see…" Then his sadistic smirk came back. "This is going to be fun!"

Marik frowned. "Not quite," he said glancing at Nicole. None of her body was gone, so her life must be attached to him. "It's your turn again."

Bakura drew. He smiled as he looked at his cards.

"Careful Bakura, I know your occult deck inside and out."

Bakura frowned, then his eyes widened and he tilted his head, as if listening to something.

Marik knew that his alter ego must be helping him, telling him all about, Marik's deck. Unfortunately for them, Marik had made many changes.

"Discussing strategy with Malik?" Marik said. "Well, let me tell you something, it's futile. There's no way on Earth you could beat me."

Bakura's eyes snapped back to Marik. "Your turns are numbered, Marik. Soon I'll blast you apart with your own other half's advice!"

Bakura looked at his hand again. "I lay two cards facedown and summon Gelina in defense mode."

"That means it's my turn." Marik drew a card. Damn it, the Ra ard wasn't in his hand.

"I play the Card of Sanctity spell card," he said, drawing another card.

Bakura drew a card as well.

Marik growled to himself. He still didn't have it.

Bakura laughed. "So you want Ra that bad? Then I'll grant your wish. Face down card, activate, Dark Designator. Now what ever card I name goes to your hand if you have it. And I name the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Marik's eyes widened. What was Bakura playing at? He found Ra and put it in his hand. He looked at Bakura carefully. Wait…What about his other facedown?

Bakura laughed again. "I hope you enjoyed your reunion, because it's over. Trap card activate! Multiple Destruction! Now we both have to discard our entire hands."

Marik's stomach dropped. He had to send Ra to the graveyard?

Bakura's face went serious. "Ra's attack and defense are determined by the total number of attack and defense points of the monsters used to summon it, but if it is summoned using Monster Reborn, it's attack and defense will be zero!" He smirked. "So come on Marik! Discard your hand!"

Marik growled and put his hand I the graveyard reluctantly.

"Of course, there are some risks," Bakura said. "When this magic is activated, I lose some life points, but that's a small price to pay to defeat God! It's just a few pieces of my body!" The lower part of his chest disappeared, along with the elbow of his other arm.

Marik frowned, there was nothing he could do. "Turn…end…"

Bakura smirked and drew. "I play one face down card and sacrifice one monster to summon the Puppet Master, Controller of the Dead." A giant jester-like zombie rose behind Bakura. It's rotting face loomed above the field, eyes lolling and bloodshot. It's mouth hung open, revealing blackened and missing teeth.

"The moment Puppet Master appears, it's special ability goes into effect, and I summon three monsters from the graveyard."

Strings attached to golden rings on the monsters fingers. At the other end were three almost see through monsters.

More of Bakura's body disappeared. "I lose a thousand life points, but no one ever said it was easy playing with dead things." He laughed loudly and licked his lips. "Now a special summoned monster cannot attack the turn it was summoned, but next turn…you will die."

Marik laughed as he drew his next card. It was exactly what he needed.

"What are you laughing about?" Bakura asked.

"One turn kill," Marik said. "Ra's special ability that not even Malik knows about. Take a good look Bakura, it will be your last.

Bakura's eyes widened.

"I play the spell card Monster Reborn and summon to the field, the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Bakura smirked. "Didn't you hear what I said? Without a sacrifice, Ra is useless. It's attack is zero! Plus, it disappears at the end of this turn! I'm safe!"

"You were never safe, Bakura. From the moment you took her." He pointed to Nicole. Then he began to chant in Ancient Egyptian, calling on Ra's powers and giving his life points to the great dragon. He knew his life points would be gone, all but one. He didn't dare look at Nicole.

"Now you die!" he screamed. "Ra, attack!"

Flame erupted from Ra's mouth, engulfing Bakura. One the attack was over, Bakura began to laugh as his body disappeared.

"What's so funny?" Marik snapped. "I won, she's safe-" he cut off as he looked at Nicole, her body hidden by a wall of shadows. "What?"

"I never finished explaining what life points she was attached to. In truth it was both of ours. If both of us reached below 1000 lifepoints, her soul went to the shadow realm. As for me, I am the darkness, so I'll be back, but she isn't so lucky." As the last of Bakura's body disappeared, so did the shadows around Nicole. Her body dropped to the ground with a sickening thud. Marik rushed to her side.

Bakura had to be lying. She couldn't be gone. He shook her shoulders. "Nicole, wake up!"

She was covered in small gashes that still bled sluggishly. Marik looked at his hands, they were red with her blood.

He heard footsteps coming up the stairs to the deck. He jumped away from her body, aware of how it looked.

The entire gang of the Pharaohs 'friends' burst out and stared at him.

Marik put his bloody hands into fists and glared defiantly at them.

Ishizu stepped out from behind them. She pressed her hands to her mouth. "Marik."

The Pharaohs brunette friend stepped forward and the others tried to hold her back. "How could you?" she screamed. "She wasn't even a duelist! How could you murder her?"

They thought he had done this. Of course they would. Marik kept his face blank, but he felt sick, very sick.

"I didn't-" he started to say, but it was just a whisper. "I didn't kill her," he said, louder this time. "She's not dead." He glared at them. "She's alive." He felt something prickling behind his eyes. He was lying. This was his fault. He'd let himself get too close and then he couldn't protect her.

He pushed past the accusing faces, and into the blimp. Once they couldn't see him, something inside him broke and he let the first tear he'd ever cried fall. It slipped down his cheek and fell onto his bloody hands, leaving a single clear spot on the red gloves he now wore.


End file.
